11 projects awarded funding to facilitate UN SDGs

26 February 2021

In a joint call from GEO and UCL Grand Challenges, almost £95,000 was awarded to projects generating societal impact for the UN SDGs

Environmental technology concept. Sustainable development goals. SDGs.

The UN SDGs: Pathways to Achievement funding call has awarded 11 projects a total of almost £95,000 to facilitate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The joint call from the UCL Global Engagement Office and UCL Grand Challenges follows on from the success of the jointly hosted two-week virtual conference Beyond Boundaries, held in October 2020, which reached an audience of over 1,350 people from almost 60 countries.

Supported projects under the call include those exploring the role of the humanities in achieving the Global Goals, developing a shared agenda for the Goals on biodiversity and climate change, and undertaking participatory action research art to connect communities with the Goals.

Dr Hervé Borrion (Security and Crime Science), one of the funding recipients, said: "The project we have proposed will examine the impact on COVID-19 on crime in the different neighbourhoods of Cali, Colombia. It was a fantastic news to know we've received the Pathways to Achievement award. Not only does it confirm the importance of our research but it also consolidates our collaboration with the National Police of Colombia. The whole team is very excited to start this work."

Another of the awardees, Dr Joanna Morrison (Institute for Global Health), will be collaborating with colleagues at the Janakpur Womens Development Centre. She said: "Satish and I are really excited to understand how artists and students relate to the SDGs and see what we can create together about this. It builds on work that the Centre has been doing with the United Nations in Nepal and will provide an example of how to promote engagement in communities in participatory and fun ways."

Congratulations to all the UN SDGs: Pathways to Achievement funding recipients:

Lead UCL applicants and collaborators	Project
Dr Priti Parikh (Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management) and Dr Pascale Hofmann (Development Planning Unit)	Policy toolkit for achieving SDGs in Durban through sanitation (ToolSanDurban)
Dr Tom Pegram (Political Science) and Dr Nathalie Seddon (Zoology, University of Oxford)	A shared agenda for the UN Sustainable Development Goals on biodiversity and climate change: opportunities, challenges and governance implications
Dr Ludovic Coupaye (Anthropology) and Fabiana Fernandes (Institute for the Development of Art and Culture)	Guarani and Kaiowá virtual museum: experimental approaches to collaborative heritage
Prof Nicola Miller (Institute of Advance Studies) and Prof Maurice Biriotti (Arts & Humanities)	The humanities and the SDGs
Dr Abbie Chapman (Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research) and Dr Charlie Outhwaite (Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research)	Investigating the global impact of some of the nation’s favourite foods to promote ‘SDG friendly’ consumer behaviours for individual and societal wellbeing
Dr Joanna Morrison (Institute for Global Health) and Satish Sah (Janakpur Womens Development Centre)	Participatory action research art and the SDGs: connecting communities with goals
Dr Francesco Salustri (Institute for Global Health) and Dr Ali Kiadaliri (Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Lund University)	The contributions of public health policies and healthcare quality to changes in life expectancy and the gender gap in life expectancy in the UK
Dr Mie Rizig (Neuromuscular Diseases) and Omotola Thomas (Parkinson's Africa)	Removing language barriers to empower patients and public engagement in Africa: a campaign focusing on Parkinson’s Disease
Dr Hervé Borrion (Security and Crime Science) and Major Ervyn Norza (National Police of Colombia)	Supporting communities against homicides in Cali, Colombia
Dr Joseph Calabrese (Anthropology) and Dr Ulrike Cokl (Bhutan Network)	How wellbeing is affected by economic/infrastructure development in Bhutan: rural to urban migration, intergenerational relations, and informal care networks
Dr Benjamin Alcott (Education, Practice and Society) and Dr Mary Goretti Nakabugo (Uwezo Uganda)	How can we assess learning at scale among refugee communities? Insights from Uganda.

For the latest news about UCL’s international activity, partnerships and opportunities, subscribe to our bimonthly Global Update newsletter.